This application is based on and claims the priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 of German Patent Application 101 37 806.8, filed on Aug. 6, 2001, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to a system for the supersonic transport of passengers and for passenger flights into near space using high performance supersonic aircraft.
It is already known, and a $15 million per year industry has developed, to utilize existing high performance supersonic aircraft (e.g. military fighter aircraft) for commercial applications, such as introducing the public to supersonic flight, high performance aerobatics, and high altitude flights to the lower boundary of space. Such civil commercial applications of existing supersonic military aircraft suffer several disadvantages and limitations. First, the per-passenger cost of such a flight is extremely high, because only a single passenger can be accommodated on board such an aircraft. Namely, such existing supersonic aircraft are typically equipped with a maximum of two seat positions in the cockpit, and the passenger is seated in the rear seat of the cockpit of the aircraft. Secondly, due to the backseat position, the passenger often has only an obstructed view and limited seating comfort in a rather cramped space. Thirdly, any passenger who is to undertake such a commercial supersonic flight in a decommissioned military aircraft or the like, must first be trained in various emergency procedures, including the use of an ejection seat to eject from the aircraft in case of an emergency. Even with such training, ejecting from the aircraft at a very high altitude and high speed is extremely hazardous at best.
A popular commercial application for existing military aircraft is a high altitude flight to the boundary of space, by carrying out a high speed pull-up. Such a pull-up flight maneuver can bring the existing aircraft to an altitude of approximately 25 km. Such a flight is dangerous and the maximum altitude is limited due to the diminishing controllability of the aircraft as the ambient air density becomes very small so that the control surfaces, and especially the rudder, lose efficiency. Also, the typical air-breathing jet engines are unable to continue providing the required thrust for maintaining flight at such an altitude.
In view of the above, it is an object of the invention to provide a system by which a greater number of passengers can be transported at supersonic speeds, for the purposes of travel, recreation, and tourism, whereby the cost and effort for such supersonic flight per passenger is reduced in comparison to the prior art. It is a further object of the invention to simplify and improve the safety of such supersonic flights for members of the public. Another object of the invention is to use existing supersonic aircraft as a propulsion unit or platform to be developed to carry a greater number of passengers. The invention further aims to avoid or overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and to achieve additional advantages, as apparent from the present specification.
The above objects have been achieved according to the invention in a passenger transport system including an autonomous passenger module mounted in the manner of a payload container or pod on a supersonic aircraft. The autonomous passenger module includes a multi-passenger cabin with comfortable passenger seats and passenger service features (e.g. similar to those that exist in present-day commercial passenger aircraft). The passenger cabin has relatively large windows, for example canopy-type windows in the manner of an overhead canopy with a full xe2x89xa7180xc2x0 overhead view similar to that of the pilot cockpit of the aircraft. The autonomous passenger module is further equipped with safety and life support systems, e.g. including an oxygen supply or oxygen generators, a power unit with a compressor or pressurized gas cylinders for maintaining a pressurized atmosphere within the passenger cabin, an electrical system for cabin lighting and the like, a communication system for communication between the passenger cabin and the aircraft or an earth-based ground station, etc.
The inventive system preferably uses a pre-existing supersonic aircraft, such as a military fighter-type aircraft, as the module carrying platform. The term xe2x80x9cmilitary fighter-type aircraftxe2x80x9d means a decommissioned former military fighter aircraft (e.g. a Mig 31) or an aircraft of a design the same as a military fighter aircraft. Thereby, the commercial civil transport of an increased number of passengers can be achieved with little effort or complication, and with relatively low costs. It is not necessary to alter the existing supersonic aircraft, although the invention provides for preferable modifications or enhancements as described herein. The aircraft has a sufficient payload capacity to carry the additional passenger module in all phases of its ordinary flight envelope, including take-off, climb, cruise, descent and landing. The aircraft is also able to carry out its normal aerobatic maneuvers and the like while carrying the passenger module.
While the invention is primarily described herein in connection with a military fighter aircraft, the supersonic aircraft used as the payload carrier platform for the passenger module can alternatively be any other supersonic aircraft with a sufficient payload capacity. Generally, military fighter aircraft and other supersonic aircraft intended and suitable for use according to the invention have an inherent limited passenger capacity of one or two or three persons, i.e. a pilot plus one or two additional passengers. The use of the inventive system substantially increases the passenger carrying ability of the aircraft with a rather low additional cost and effort.
While the passenger module may remain permanently mounted on the aircraft to be carried by the aircraft throughout an entire normal flight as mentioned above, the invention also provides an improvement of the overall safety in case of an emergency, as follows. The passenger module is preferably releasably mounted on top of the aircraft by releasable mounting elements or separation elements, e.g. pyrotechnically explodable mounting bolts or latches or the like. The passenger module is further equipped with its own autonomous landing parachute system. Thus, in the event of an emergency, the passenger module is separated from the aircraft and the parachute system is deployed to safely carry the passenger module back down to earth, while the passengers remain safely seated in the passenger cabin with the benefit of the life support systems of the module, e.g. providing oxygen, pressurization, and temperature control. Thus, the passengers do not need to be trained for, and do not need to carry out an ejection in case of an emergency. Also, the passengers are not subjected to the dangerous effects of low pressure, low oxygen, and low temperature in the event of an emergency at very high altitudes, and are not subjected to the high G loads of ejection or emergency maneuvers of the aircraft. Depending on the size and the payload capacity of the supersonic aircraft, a different size of passenger module may be used. For some large powerful military jet aircraft, relatively large passenger modules, with seating for several passengers, are feasible. For example, the passenger module may have a single column of several passenger seats, or several rows of two abreast passenger seats, e.g. for a total passenger capacity of at least 4, or even 10 or 12 or more passengers in the passenger module. Of course, the total operating costs per passenger are scaled down in proportion to the size and seating capacity of the passenger module.
In order to improve the control, and thereby overcome the problem of diminishing controllability of the aircraft at high altitudes, the aircraft and/or the passenger module may additionally be equipped with thrusters along several axes to achieve enhanced attitude control at high altitudes in a thinning atmosphere. These thrusters may be similar to those used on most spacecraft. The addition of such thrusters on the aircraft can increase the operational altitude by as much as 10 km, e.g. to an altitude of about 35 km. This thruster attitude control system is also required to maintain the proper controlled attitude of the aircraft during the ballistic flight at high altitude. Furthermore, the maximum achievable altitude can be additionally increased to an altitude of at least 45 km or even approximately 50 km by equipping the aircraft and/or the passenger module with one or more booster rockets, which may be liquid or solid fuel boosters according to any conventional teachings. The rocket booster augmentation and thruster attitude control systems work in vacuum at high altitude and thereby improve and extend the flight envelope of the aircraft with the passenger module mounted thereon, to near space suborbital flights.